A woman has described her horrific ordeal trying to fly to Turkey for a family holiday, which left her and her children 'sobbing' on the floor. Sarah Thomas, 38, says easyJet cancelled her flights to Turkey from Bristol Airport and then from Gatwick over a hellish two days.
Sarah, from Cardiff, booked a holiday to Turkey for herself and her family three years ago. The holiday was delayed due to Covid, but on Thursday (May 26) they were finally due to fly with easyJet from Bristol Airport for a long overdue break.
“I am a nervous flyer anyway,” she told WalesOnline. “They then delayed it because they said there was something wrong with the plane. Five minutes later they said it was cancelled. The plane was there. We were literally looking at it. There were other people there who were going to their wedding.
Also read: LIVE: Bristol Airport 'a zoo' amid long delays and luggage 'thrown on floor' - updates
“When they cancelled we were told we weren't allowed to leave the gate because we had to go through immigration. Even though we hadn’t been anywhere. They said that a person from easyJet would be waiting in the baggage reclaim area to help us. When we got there, there was no-one around."
She said they were on the phone for hours before easyJet booked them onto another flight from Gatwick the following evening. She claimed the airline also told her they would book her and her family (which included her disabled sister and two daughters) a hotel at the airport if they could get there under their own steam.
The family therefore paid £350 for a taxi from Bristol to Gatwick but once they were in the taxi they asked easyJet which hotel they should go to. They claimed the airline said that, instead, they needed to book it themselves and claim the money back. Single mum, Sarah, therefore paid another £207 for the hotel. Their flight wasn’t due to leave until late on Friday evening, but given that their hotel checkout was 2pm, they had to spend over seven hours in the airport.
Despite the long wait, the family were called to go to the gate to finally get their flight. Sarah’s youngest (age five) was particularly excited saying this was going to be “the best day of my life”. However, when they arrived at the gate at Gatwick there was another announcement.
“When we got to the gate again they just said it was cancelled,” said Sarah. “No explanation why. I literally broke down. My legs went beneath me. I was on the floor crying my eyes out. I couldn’t believe this was happening again. Not just one flight but two. We had travelled all the way to Gatwick.”
The family were then stuck at the airport and claimed they received no support from the airline. “We had nowhere to go,” said Sarah, claiming: “There was no-one from easyJet. We managed to wait outside with my five-year-old for a coach. We got back at 5am and had to spend £120 to get back. Both kids were crying their eyes out last night. It was heartbreaking.”
Sarah has vowed never to fly with easyJet again and is claiming compensation. She has booked another flight with a different provider for Friday and is desperate that this time it will not be cancelled. WalesOnline has approached the airline about Sarah’s case.
Easyjet has confirmed that about 24 flights a day from London's Gatwick airport will be cancelled between May 28 and June 6. It is understood that the cancellations are due to an issue with an IT system.
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